Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries has opened its Detroit and Highland Park shelters around the clock, expanding its normal operating hours of 5 p.m.-8 a.m.

And it plans to keep the shelters open until the temperature rises above 32 degrees to make sure the area's homeless have a place to escape the dangerous cold, CEO Chad Audi said.

As of early afternoon, the nonprofit was at capacity at all three of its shelters, both those for men and a third for women and children in Detroit. But it has added additional floor mattresses and chairs at the shelters in anticipation of more people arriving, Audi said.

Already, its Midtown Detroit shelter for men is 20 people above its capacity of 80.

The extra guests will increase Detroit Rescue Mission's daily operating costs at the shelters by about a third, Audi said. That will equate to roughly $20 a day per person for food, showers and laundry facilities, up from about $15.

The organization prepares for such weather events and the influx of homeless people coming for help by stockpiling bottled water, food, blankets and flashlights (for use in the event of power outages), Audi said.

"Our promise is that we never turn anyone away," he said. "We're depending on people to call us to let us know where they spot (homeless) people."

"We'll send a van … to bring the homeless into the shelters. ... It's our goal to make sure they're safe and away from the cold."

Detroit Rescue Mission is communicating with the Neighborhood Services Organization and the Coalition on Temporary Shelter to keep a handle on their capacity levels and is working with the Detroit Recovery Project, which drives around looking for homeless people under bridges and in other areas they seek shelter, Audi said.

Detroit Rescue Mission has dedicated staff, most of whom were able to make it in to relieve co-workers at the shelters, Audi said.

Fortunately, all three shelters are within buildings that operate 24/7 anyway, he said, given that they house other programs such as transitional housing.

The nonprofit is capitalizing on its new guests' presence, bringing in case managers to talk with them to try to identify the root causes of their homelessness in an effort to get them permanently housed.

"With some of them we'll be successful," Audi said. But "some will be chronic homeless who will never take advantage of what we can offer them.